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Chapter 149: [Soulcraft]
🕑 Added 2024-12-06 02:31:08 +0000 UTC« Chapter-148 | Index | Chapter-150 »
[Welcome to the 20th floor of the Ascension Tower.]
Sora appeared in a gigantic, magical garden that stretched as far as his eyes could see. The air felt thick, like it was full of something he desperately needed. Every breath he took made him feel better, as though the air itself was helping him heal and grow.
'Is this… Soul Power?' he wondered, probing the space with his mental power and mana. The concentration of Soul Power around him was unlike anything he had ever felt.
Far away, tall stone pillars rose from the ground, forming an octagon. Strange symbols were carved into them, and they seemed to hum quietly, their function unknown.
Flowers in every color of the rainbow grew everywhere outside of the octagon, their petals glowing softly and sending out little wisps of light that floated into the air.
Sora stepped forward, sensing the density of Soul Power intensify around him. He noticed the flowers swaying gracefully, as if dancing, despite the absence of wind.
'This place…' he thought, hesitating to speak aloud in the serene beauty surrounding him. 'Everything here feels alive, even though I sense no other living beings.'
In the center of the octagon of pillars, he noticed a rose. Its red petals glowed softly, so flawless and captivating that Sora was certain he had never seen anything so perfect. He couldn’t help but stare at it, drawn in as though it held the key to everything unfolding around him.
Hearing the sound of a series of notifications, he was pulled out of his trance.
'What just happened? How could I be mesmerized by a flower? Was it some kind of mental attack?' he wondered, immediately raising his guard.
[Congratulations on your ascension!]
[You are awarded a [Haven of Peace] (Tier 1).]
[You are awarded a [Soulcraft] skill book.]
[Trial: [Customized Trial] – Train in the current space, where Soul Power is abundant.]
[You are allowed to train inside the 20th floor for five weeks.]
Reading the notifications, Sora's curiosity was piqued. His attention turned to the [Haven of Peace], which appeared as a small token in his hand. Inspecting it, he was greeted with more details.
[Haven of Peace] (Tier 1)
[Description: If your Kingdom is unable to gain victory in the war for Supremacy, you can use this to summon a Haven of Peace, creating a safe space where people of your choice can be sheltered for a period of 20 years.
Before use, this token can be traded. It can not be destroyed.
After use, the space can not be invaded.
Population limit: 500 million.]
'What does this mean? Is this referring to the game world or the real world? If we lose the war, we can save 500 million people? Doesn't it mean that the remaining 10 billion will die? Every clue I get raises even more questions... This is tiring'
Shaking his head at the strange description, he still felt content with the reward. 'This is a glimmer of hope. With this, I can guarantee the survival of my family and part of mankind...'
Feeling the constant refreshing sensation of his [Soul Palace] basking in the surrounding Soul Power—despite not being able to absorb it—Sora's excitement grew as he shifted his attention to his second reward.
Holding the skill book in his hands, he inspected it, realizing its description mentioned exactly what its name implied.
[Would you like to learn this skill ?]
Sora opened the book, its pages smooth beneath his fingertips. As he traced his fingers over the paper, the first page seemed to come alive. Words appeared and disappeared as he read, forming an introduction that explained the knowledge and purpose of the skill.
'These high-level skill books are a work of art...' he thought, impressed by the design. Loving the animation, Sora found himself captivated by the book itself, his curiosity growing as he waited for the next set of sentences to materialize.
Reading the introduction, Sora found himself diving into a whole new world, his mind reeling with the revelations within. The book described Soul Power not as energy, but as a living record of existence itself.
Soul Power, he learned, was deeply tied to life. Every living being produced it as they grew, with excess Soul Power naturally leaking into the environment once their Soul was formed and their Soul Level reached its limit. It was a kind of cosmic essence, rich with memories, emotions, and the traces of lives that had come before.
'It carries the weight of existence: feelings, regrets, hopes, and even Karma. When beings die, their accumulated Soul Power is released, becoming part of the universe. This makes Soul Power an energy of both life and death, the source of creation and and giving destruction its real meaning. If left untouched, Soul Power can even affect a new being's life' He thought, summarizing his understanding.
Reaching the end of the introduction, Sora felt ready to move on.
He turned the page of the skill book, and a surge of knowledge flooded his mind, as though the book itself was pouring its secrets directly into his mind. The sensation was overwhelming but not unpleasant, like a puzzle finally falling into place. Within moments, he started understanding the process of Soul Power.
The process was outlined step-by-step, breaking down the absorption, cleansing, and consolidation of Soul Power. As he read, he felt his body instinctively responding to the instructions, his mind eager to put them into practice.
Sora closed his eyes, focusing on the air around him. Following the method outlined in the skill book, he began the process of Soul Refinement.
'First, there is absorption,' he thought, directing his attention to the dense Soul Power saturating the garden. He allowed it to flow into his body in measured amounts. The energy was wild and chaotic, carrying fragmented memories, emotions, and other remnants of its origins.
'Now, this Soul Power needs to be cleansed... I have to guide it through specific pathways in my body and cycle it repeatedly. ' With care, he directed the Soul Power, filtering its impurities. Memories, hopes, emotions, and even residual Karma were stripped away, leaving only pure, refined energy behind.
'My talent seems to affects how many cycles are required for this step.' He smiled at the realization.
However, whenever the energy flowed around the [Soul Palace], he felt immense pain. 'This feels even worse than the lava form. I really can't get used to feeling pain related to the Soul.'
Enduring the process, heaved a sigh of relief as the torture ended. Sensing the purity of the energy he had refined, he thought, 'Now, I can either absorb such energy or consolidate it, turning it into [Soul Pearls].' He had learned that [Soul Pearls] were the condensed essence of Soul Power, stripped of all traces of their origin—pure, stable, and safe to absorb for anyone.
Sora marveled at the simplicity and elegance of the process. "Soul Power isn’t just energy," he muttered. "It’s the essence of life, carrying the weight of every being’s existence."
As he continued, he noticed something interesting: the amount of Soul Power he could absorb at a time was directly tied to the strength of his own soul. The stronger his Soul Level, the more Soul Power he could absorb and refine in a single cycle.
'My talent gives me an edge in cleansing Soul Power, but my Soul Palace is weak and cracked right now, so the amount I can absorb is limited.'
Using the Soul Power he had refined, he began repairing his [Soul Palace].
As the final day of a week-long refinement drew to a close, Sora sat surrounded by Soul Power. Each cycle of purification had been carefully directed toward recovering from his injury.
[Your Soul Palace has been fully repaired.]
Reading the notification after refining and absorbing what he estimated to be the equivalent of seven hundred [Soul Pearls], Sora's joy reached its peak. The pain and constant training it required had all been worth it.
Even before he had fully recovered, he had noticed that with each cycle of refinement, the process had felt smoother, slightly more efficient, as if his [Soul Palace] recovering made it easier to absorb more Soul Power.
'I can refine around a hundred [Soul Pearls] a day. I have no idea if that's good or not, but given the staggering value of my talent, I imagine it’s a lot...' Remembering how [Soul Pearls] were valued on the same level as talent, he had a strong sense of how difficult it must be for others to create them.
'Grinding prestige will let me earn even more [Soul Pearls] per day... With my current strength, I might eventually farm tens of thousands of [Soul Pearls] in a single day. Should I focus on increasing my proficiency in [Soulcraft], or keep pushing my Soul Level through Prestige Grinding?' He considered both options before making his choice.
Giving a last look around, he felt that it was finally time, thinking, 'Time to leave this tower, I guess.'
As he was about to select the [End Trial] option, his eyes stopped on the rose in the middle of of the garden.
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